Has anyone on here battled alcohol addiction?
- Thread starter Anon201138
- Start date
Been in recovery for 4 years now and I don’t fight the cravings anymore, but I still have to fight living life on life’s terms. For me personally that is why I would tell you AA saved my life. My recommendation would be if you are medically sick, seek treatment to get yourself medically safe to start your road; that is what I had to do and it is only a recommendation, your doctor may telll you different I don’t know your personal condition. I’ll say this and please don’t take it as a shot at you: if you are brave enough to start even here with admitting this, you are working towards your first step: admitting you are powerless and maybe your life is becoming unmanageable.
AA has something called the big book. Perhaps read it, you may find yourself in the pages. I did. Go to a meeting and listen. Talk to others that have battled this. I promise you won’t be judged. Of that I am sure; everyone in that meeting will have something in common with you and can help you.
I hope you take this into consideration. Alcohol affects many many people differently than the normal drinker. It doesn’t make you a bad person or alone. Good luck in your journey and I pray yoh take this seriously. If you ever wanna DM me for more info I would be glad to talk to you about this. You are not alone, and it can get better. Good luck my friend.
AA has something called the big book. Perhaps read it, you may find yourself in the pages. I did. Go to a meeting and listen. Talk to others that have battled this. I promise you won’t be judged. Of that I am sure; everyone in that meeting will have something in common with you and can help you.
I hope you take this into consideration. Alcohol affects many many people differently than the normal drinker. It doesn’t make you a bad person or alone. Good luck in your journey and I pray yoh take this seriously. If you ever wanna DM me for more info I would be glad to talk to you about this. You are not alone, and it can get better. Good luck my friend.
Yes. AA.
I was similar. Job was fine. 5th plus a day almost killed me.
Not only does AA help with drinking, but most importantly it will make you a better person and you learn to take things in stride. It is hard to describe what being committed to the tenets of AA has done for me spiritually, mentally, and relationally with others. Truly a God send.
Best decision I have ever made.
Last edited:
I was the same way until not long ago. As best I can tell, alcoholism is pretty random across gender/class etc.
Man I completely understand how traveling for work and living out of hotels can create a serious sense of loneliness and boredom. I don't travel as much as I used to for work but now I can be out of town for a month at a time. That hotel room can feel like a prison and the only escape can be going out to eat. That single beer you order with your meal can easily turn into 10 because you don't want to sit in your room alone.
My honest advice is to find a hobby to occupy your free time that you can take with you on the road. I'm a fly fisherman and I have a travel fly tying kit that goes with me on trips. It's enough that I can occupy my time rather than sitting at a bar. Even if I don't need the flies for myself I donate a large portion to a veterans program that helps vets with PTSD thru outdoor activities. I know other people that travel with an Xbox, Play Station or a switch that they hook up to the TV to occupy their time.
Last edited:
I'm sure you know this, but the anxiety thing is self reinforcing. If I drink one night, I'm fine. If I drink three nights in a row, I have bad anxiety. And it's tempting to want to treat the anxiety with more alcohol, but eventually you just have to gut it out. And as far as I know, any of the prescription medicines for anxiety just trade one dependency for another. Maybe one of the MDs here can correct me, but it seems like if the anxiety is substance/chemical induced, you pretty much have to just gut it out at some point. Or I guess maybe ween off of whatever.
That’s a good point. My anxiety may have gotten worse when my drinking did because of it..
If you cannot find the self control to stop drinking yourself, there is certainly nothing wrong with you. I would invite you to think about seeking help in an online program first. If it's something you don't want the world to know (as in all your friends and family finding out you are in some kind of rehab), then an online program will keep it all between you and the program. You can take the classes at your own pace and not have to worry about parking around back at a treatment center so your boss or wife doesn't see you parked there.
For me, and most likely for many on this board, I have had periods of my life where I certainly drank too much. I was always able to have that inner strength to realize that and completely stop for long periods of time before it was able to effect different parts of my life, but I was lucky in that sense. If IT is controlling YOU, then you certainly need to seek help man. I pray that you do that and find happiness outside of the 5'th each day. That is nowhere near healthy for you, and will catch up with you in a big way as you age. Good luck man, and thanks for at least reaching out to a group of people who have certainly had the same issues.
Start working out, play a sport (tennis, pickleball, softball, whatever). Something to keep you in shape and where you are not thinking about drinking for long periods of time. Find something competitive to where you know you can't booze before you play to keep your chances of winning high. Get that young inner dude competitive nature back. Coaching baseball or youth sports can also do that, and I found coaching youth baseball is where I am most happy. Something about giving back to young men and being competitive at the same time keeps me grounded. Just DO NOT DRINK before you do any of these. Pump iron man, most hotels have workout gyms but you can also keep in shape in front of your cell phone in your room. Hit it hard, the booze can wait.
Sometimes as men, we let our pride get in the way of getting help. It's not right and we need to realize our family matters more than our personal happiness. Do it man!
ETA: Don't try solving this with another replacement high like weed or Kratom. Those two will only function as a replacement. I have had friends do that as a replacement for harder (more deadly) types of drugs that can kill you in one bite, but for alcohol you need to take care of the root problem. Kratom only serves to get you addicted to a new substance, that you will one day have to quit all over.
Last edited:
Well said, Alcohol is the cause of the addiction, not the person. There's no shame in getting help from any substance.
Society persuades us to drink as youngsters, to be like our parents. "It's what adults & the cool kids do." Then many get addicted and cannot stop. It's romanticized way too much as the only way to have fun or cope with stress.
No shame at all. I'll bet at least 60-70% percent of the men on this board have battled with some type of addiction in their lives. Maybe more. Most never have the strength to first, admit it. Then to seek help.
As men, we have a lot of pressure that women don't have to be that provider for the entire family, all the while trying to keep up with our own pride and all the pressures that come with our jobs and keeping the Mrs. happy. It's not easy, and we are constantly told it's not enough, even when it's the best we can do.
One thing I really didn't understand is what a roll of the dice it is to drink heavily. I think when I was younger I was just like, if it ever becomes a problem, you just have to dial it back. I did not understand how quickly some people could pick up a chemical addiction. I've been around people that drink heavily for years and never pick up any noticeable chemical addiction. I've seen somebody that drank heavily everyday pretty much for years and was causing himself problems, but when it interfered with his life, he just quit. No physical withdrawal symptoms at all. Just had to deal with the psychological crutch. On the flipside I've seen people get hooked quickly. Just go from recreational drinking to drinking with breakfast in a few years. Seems to be way worse for women, which I understand is there is actually a biological reason for that that I don't remember the basics of.
All that to be a long way of say, no, there is no shame in getting help. People that just never drink can claim moral superiority if they want to I guess. They did forego a potentially fun time to avoid the risk of addiction. But among people who drink, it seems to just that some people are susceptible to a chemical addiction forming quickly and others are not.